Moroccan researcher Rajaâ Cherkaoui El Moursli was chosen, along with four other women of science, to receive the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science in its 2015 edition.
Ms Cherkaoui, professor at the University Mohammed V-Agdal in Rabat and specialist in high-energy physics and nuclear physics, is rewarded “for her major contribution to one of the greatest discoveries of physics: the proof of existence of the Higgs boson, the particle responsible for the mass creation in the universe”, reads a statement by the UNESCO.
Moroccan scientist, representing the African region and Arab countries for this 17th edition of the prize, is also called “a militant researcher”, as she devotes a large part of her time and energy to improve the level of scientific research in Morocco.
Rajaâ Cherkaoui El Moursli also helped to improve the effectiveness of Moroccan health system by creating the first master of medical physics, the source added.
The L’Oréal-UNESCO 2015, which will be presented to the winners on March 18 in Paris, was also awarded to Yi Xie, University of Science and Technology of China Hefei (inorganic chemistry), to Dame Carol Robinson of the University of Oxford (physical chemistry and mass spectrometry) to Thaisa Storchi Bergmann, of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil (Physics and Astronomy) and Molly S. Shoichet of the University of Toronto in Canada (polymer chemistry).
Furthermore, the organizers noted that this award carries a special meaning in 2015, the International Year of the Light as designated by the UNESCO, which celebrates science and knowledge worldwide.
Each of these women made a name for herself by her scientific excellence and is effectively demonstrating that women can play a key role and contribute to scientific progress in a field still largely dominated by men.
